Taupo weather in May

In May, Taupo sees average daytime highs of 13°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 109 mm of rain across 11.2 wet days and about 9.9 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 7th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 14°C in the first days to 12°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 24 min at the start of May to 9 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Taupo's 5th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Taupo's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 13°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 6°; 5th coldest
Rainfall: 109 mm; 11.2 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 54 min; 8:15 AM – 6:09 PM
Cloud cover: 65%; 5th clearest
Wind: 11 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 2.08 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.6; out of 10

Taupo is town in New Zealand's North Island.

Air quality: Excellent; PM10 12.9 µg/m³ · 2012
Density: 629/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1869

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← April Taupo year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 14°C in the first days to 12°C by the end.

A typical May day in Taupo reaches about 13°C in the afternoon and slips back to 6°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 15°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 3°C cooler than April and about 3°C warmer than June.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12
Avg low (°C)	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	5

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	15	7
2	15	7
3	14	7
4	14	7
5	14	7
6	14	7
7	14	7
8	14	7
9	14	7
10	14	7
11	14	7
12	14	7
13	13	7
14	13	7
15	13	7
16	13	6
17	13	6
18	13	6
19	13	6
20	13	6
21	13	6
22	12	6
23	12	6
24	12	6
25	12	6
26	12	6
27	12	6
28	12	6
29	12	5
30	12	5
31	12	5

Taupo weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 8th-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	21° / 12°	89	9.9	14.4	6.3
Feb	21° / 12°	83	9	13.5	6.4
Mar	19° / 10°	85	9.3	12.3	6.2
Apr	16° / 8°	103	10.5	11	4.9
May	13° / 6°	109	11.2	9.9	3.6
Jun	11° / 5°	115	11.6	9.3	2.4
Jul	10° / 4°	124	12.9	9.6	2.1
Aug	11° / 4°	120	14	10.5	2.3
Sep	12° / 5°	123	13.8	11.7	3.0
Oct	14° / 7°	118	13.9	13	3.8
Nov	17° / 8°	108	12.5	14.1	4.8
Dec	19° / 10°	118	13.8	14.7	5.5

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 61%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	40	40	39	39	38	38	38	38	39	38	38	38	38	38	38	39	39	39	39	39	40	40	41	41	41	41	42	41	41	41	41
Cloudier (%)	60	60	61	61	62	62	62	62	61	62	62	62	62	62	62	61	61	61	61	61	60	60	59	59	59	59	58	59	59	59	59

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	40	60
2	40	60
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	38	62
6	38	62
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	39	61
10	38	62
11	38	62
12	38	62
13	38	62
14	38	62
15	38	62
16	39	61
17	39	61
18	39	61
19	39	61
20	39	61
21	40	60
22	40	60
23	41	59
24	41	59
25	41	59
26	41	59
27	42	58
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	41	59
31	41	59

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Taupo gets around 109 mm of rain over 11.2 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 36% and peaks near 39% on the wettest days.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	35	35	36	37	37	38	38	38	38	39	39	39	39	39	39	38	38

	Rain chance (%)
1	34
2	34
3	34
4	34
5	34
6	34
7	34
8	34
9	34
10	34
11	34
12	34
13	34
14	34
15	35
16	35
17	36
18	37
19	37
20	38
21	38
22	38
23	38
24	39
25	39
26	39
27	39
28	39
29	39
30	38
31	38

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of May feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, May lands in the dry band about 96% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	92	92	92	93	93	93	93	94	94	94	95	95	95	96	96	96	96	96	97	97	97	97	97	98	98	98	98	98	98	99	99
Comfortable (%)	8	8	8	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	92	8
2	92	8
3	92	8
4	93	7
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	93	7
8	94	6
9	94	6
10	94	6
11	95	5
12	95	5
13	95	5
14	96	4
15	96	4
16	96	4
17	96	4
18	96	4
19	97	3
20	97	3
21	97	3
22	97	3
23	97	3
24	98	2
25	98	2
26	98	2
27	98	2
28	98	2
29	98	2
30	99	1
31	99	1

Wind in May

Winds average 11 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 11 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	10	calm
2	10	calm
3	10	calm
4	10	calm
5	10	calm
6	10	calm
7	10	calm
8	10	calm
9	10	calm
10	10	calm
11	10	calm
12	10	calm
13	11	calm
14	11	calm
15	11	calm
16	11	calm
17	11	calm
18	11	calm
19	11	calm
20	11	calm
21	11	calm
22	11	calm
23	11	calm
24	11	calm
25	11	calm
26	11	calm
27	11	calm
28	11	calm
29	11	calm
30	11	calm
31	11	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 24 min at the start of May to 9 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 54 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 8:01 AM to 8:27 AM, and sunset from 6:25 PM to 5:59 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	10.4	10.4	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.0	10.0	10.0	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.5	9.5
Sunrise (AM)	8:01	8:02	8:03	8:04	8:05	8:06	8:06	8:07	8:08	8:09	8:10	8:11	8:12	8:13	8:14	8:15	8:16	8:17	8:18	8:18	8:19	8:20	8:21	8:22	8:23	8:24	8:24	8:25	8:26	8:27	8:27
Sunset (PM)	6:25	6:24	6:23	6:21	6:20	6:19	6:18	6:17	6:16	6:15	6:14	6:13	6:12	6:11	6:10	6:09	6:08	6:07	6:06	6:06	6:05	6:04	6:03	6:03	6:02	6:01	6:01	6:00	6:00	5:59	5:59

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.4	8:01	6:25
2	10.4	8:02	6:24
3	10.3	8:03	6:23
4	10.3	8:04	6:21
5	10.3	8:05	6:20
6	10.2	8:06	6:19
7	10.2	8:06	6:18
8	10.2	8:07	6:17
9	10.1	8:08	6:16
10	10.1	8:09	6:15
11	10.1	8:10	6:14
12	10.0	8:11	6:13
13	10.0	8:12	6:12
14	10.0	8:13	6:11
15	9.9	8:14	6:10
16	9.9	8:15	6:09
17	9.9	8:16	6:08
18	9.8	8:17	6:07
19	9.8	8:18	6:06
20	9.8	8:18	6:06
21	9.8	8:19	6:05
22	9.7	8:20	6:04
23	9.7	8:21	6:03
24	9.7	8:22	6:03
25	9.7	8:23	6:02
26	9.6	8:24	6:01
27	9.6	8:24	6:01
28	9.6	8:25	6:00
29	9.6	8:26	6:00
30	9.5	8:27	5:59
31	9.5	8:27	5:59

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 2.08 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.64 kWh/m² to a high of 6.48 kWh/m² in January across the year — May's 2.08 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	2.5	2.5	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	2.5	Moderate
2	2.5	Moderate
3	2.4	Moderate
4	2.4	Moderate
5	2.4	Moderate
6	2.3	Moderate
7	2.3	Moderate
8	2.3	Moderate
9	2.3	Moderate
10	2.2	Moderate
11	2.2	Moderate
12	2.2	Moderate
13	2.1	Moderate
14	2.1	Moderate
15	2.1	Moderate
16	2.0	Moderate
17	2.0	Moderate
18	2.0	Moderate
19	2.0	Dim
20	2.0	Dim
21	1.9	Dim
22	1.9	Dim
23	1.9	Dim
24	1.9	Dim
25	1.9	Dim
26	1.9	Dim
27	1.9	Dim
28	1.8	Dim
29	1.8	Dim
30	1.8	Dim
31	1.8	Dim

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Taupo?

Our two travel scores rate May for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

3.6

Sightseeing

8th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

8th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Taupo.

What to pack for Taupo in May

From May's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In May, Taupo sees daytime highs around 13°C and nights near 6°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Taupo in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Taupo peaks around December 23 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 18 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	12	11	7	5	3	2	2	3	5	7	11	12
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	12	Extreme
Feb	11	Extreme
Mar	7	Very high
Apr	5	Moderate
May	3	Moderate
Jun	2	Low
Jul	2	Moderate
Aug	3	Moderate
Sep	5	Moderate
Oct	7	High
Nov	11	Extreme
Dec	12	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Taupo?

Taupo sits at 38.7°S, 176.1°E, 405 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Rotorua, 62 km away.

Topography around Taupo

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Taupo.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Taupo has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 148 m around an average of 402 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 783 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,648 m.

The land around Taupo is covered by grassland (35%), artificial surfaces (25%) and trees (22%) within 3 km, grassland (50%) and trees (29%) within 16 km, and trees (60%) and grassland (35%) within 80 km.

3 km

148 m

grassland 35%

16 km

783 m

grassland 50%

80 km

2,648 m

trees 60%

treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← April Taupo year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Rotorua 62 km · Cambridge 106 km · Tauranga 111 km · Whakatane 113 km · Napier 115 km · Hamilton East 121 km · Hamilton 122 km · Hastings 125 km

New Zealand travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type I; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 86% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $49,591; 2025
Happiness: 7.0 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 100%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 1.5; per 100k, 2022
Road deaths: 9.6; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
Religion

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Taupo (-38.6833°, 176.0833°, elevation 405 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	15	7
2	15	7
3	14	7
4	14	7
5	14	7
6	14	7
7	14	7
8	14	7
9	14	7
10	14	7
11	14	7
12	14	7
13	13	7
14	13	7
15	13	7
16	13	6
17	13	6
18	13	6
19	13	6
20	13	6
21	13	6
22	12	6
23	12	6
24	12	6
25	12	6
26	12	6
27	12	6
28	12	6
29	12	5
30	12	5
31	12	5

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	40	60
2	40	60
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	38	62
6	38	62
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	39	61
10	38	62
11	38	62
12	38	62
13	38	62
14	38	62
15	38	62
16	39	61
17	39	61
18	39	61
19	39	61
20	39	61
21	40	60
22	40	60
23	41	59
24	41	59
25	41	59
26	41	59
27	42	58
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	41	59
31	41	59

	Rain chance (%)
1	34
2	34
3	34
4	34
5	34
6	34
7	34
8	34
9	34
10	34
11	34
12	34
13	34
14	34
15	35
16	35
17	36
18	37
19	37
20	38
21	38
22	38
23	38
24	39
25	39
26	39
27	39
28	39
29	39
30	38
31	38

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	92	8
2	92	8
3	92	8
4	93	7
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	93	7
8	94	6
9	94	6
10	94	6
11	95	5
12	95	5
13	95	5
14	96	4
15	96	4
16	96	4
17	96	4
18	96	4
19	97	3
20	97	3
21	97	3
22	97	3
23	97	3
24	98	2
25	98	2
26	98	2
27	98	2
28	98	2
29	98	2
30	99	1
31	99	1

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	15	7
2	15	7
3	14	7
4	14	7
5	14	7
6	14	7
7	14	7
8	14	7
9	14	7
10	14	7
11	14	7
12	14	7
13	13	7
14	13	7
15	13	7
16	13	6
17	13	6
18	13	6
19	13	6
20	13	6
21	13	6
22	12	6
23	12	6
24	12	6
25	12	6
26	12	6
27	12	6
28	12	6
29	12	5
30	12	5
31	12	5

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	40	60
2	40	60
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	38	62
6	38	62
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	39	61
10	38	62
11	38	62
12	38	62
13	38	62
14	38	62
15	38	62
16	39	61
17	39	61
18	39	61
19	39	61
20	39	61
21	40	60
22	40	60
23	41	59
24	41	59
25	41	59
26	41	59
27	42	58
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	41	59
31	41	59

	Rain chance (%)
1	34
2	34
3	34
4	34
5	34
6	34
7	34
8	34
9	34
10	34
11	34
12	34
13	34
14	34
15	35
16	35
17	36
18	37
19	37
20	38
21	38
22	38
23	38
24	39
25	39
26	39
27	39
28	39
29	39
30	38
31	38

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	92	8
2	92	8
3	92	8
4	93	7
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	93	7
8	94	6
9	94	6
10	94	6
11	95	5
12	95	5
13	95	5
14	96	4
15	96	4
16	96	4
17	96	4
18	96	4
19	97	3
20	97	3
21	97	3
22	97	3
23	97	3
24	98	2
25	98	2
26	98	2
27	98	2
28	98	2
29	98	2
30	99	1
31	99	1

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	15	7
2	15	7
3	14	7
4	14	7
5	14	7
6	14	7
7	14	7
8	14	7
9	14	7
10	14	7
11	14	7
12	14	7
13	13	7
14	13	7
15	13	7
16	13	6
17	13	6
18	13	6
19	13	6
20	13	6
21	13	6
22	12	6
23	12	6
24	12	6
25	12	6
26	12	6
27	12	6
28	12	6
29	12	5
30	12	5
31	12	5

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	40	60
2	40	60
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	38	62
6	38	62
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	39	61
10	38	62
11	38	62
12	38	62
13	38	62
14	38	62
15	38	62
16	39	61
17	39	61
18	39	61
19	39	61
20	39	61
21	40	60
22	40	60
23	41	59
24	41	59
25	41	59
26	41	59
27	42	58
28	41	59
29	41	59
30	41	59
31	41	59

	Rain chance (%)
1	34
2	34
3	34
4	34
5	34
6	34
7	34
8	34
9	34
10	34
11	34
12	34
13	34
14	34
15	35
16	35
17	36
18	37
19	37
20	38
21	38
22	38
23	38
24	39
25	39
26	39
27	39
28	39
29	39
30	38
31	38

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	92	8
2	92	8
3	92	8
4	93	7
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	93	7
8	94	6
9	94	6
10	94	6
11	95	5
12	95	5
13	95	5
14	96	4
15	96	4
16	96	4
17	96	4
18	96	4
19	97	3
20	97	3
21	97	3
22	97	3
23	97	3
24	98	2
25	98	2
26	98	2
27	98	2
28	98	2
29	98	2
30	99	1
31	99	1